“Make Your Own Badge” Site Shutting Down in June: The Why and the How

Launched in 2011, Girl Scouts’ Make Your Own Badge site was designed to offer girls a truly girl-led experience. With the Make Your Own option, Girl Scouts could get creative in designing a badge not already offered through our program, around a topic of particular interest to them. After all, a true leader should never be limited in what she can learn and accomplish!

Unfortunately, the number of girls making their own badges has been declining since 2013, and the Girls’ Choice badge process (now in its third successful year!) has been giving Girl Scouts the chance to vote on new badges they’d like to see added to our badge lineup—honoring our rich tradition of offering girl-led experiences. And we believe that, compared to Make Your Own, Girls’ Choice can more effectively reach a larger number of girls.

So after thinking long and hard (program decisions are never made lightly around here!), we decided to shut down the Make Your Own Badge site, effective June 30, 2017. That said, be assured that data collected from Make Your Own will inform Girls’ Choice topic options in the future.

And now, because we’re sure you have questions, we put together a brief FAQ. If you have a question not covered, please don’t hesitate to contact us.What should girls do if they’re interested in a topic that doesn’t have a badge associated with it?
If girls are passionate about a topic not currently reflected in a badge offering, we encourage them to explore the topic through other avenues—perhaps a Take Action project or a Destination. They might also work with their council to determine if the patch can be offered as a Council’s own.

When will the Make Your Own design tool shut down?
The design tool will shut down June 1, 2017.When is the last day to place an order?
The last day to place an order for a Make Your Own badge is June 1, 2017.

We're 2.5 million strong—more than 1.7 million girls and 750,000 adults who believe in the power of every G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader)™ to change the world. Since 1912, we’ve built girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place.